When you are buying a home, the industry standard is a 30-year mortgage.  However, if you can swing it there are definite advantages to a 15 year mortgage instead.  The biggest benefit of a fifteen-year mortgage is, of course, that you pay your home off in half the time and wind up saving a lot [...]

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With interest rates still low and likely to rise this year, now is a good time to refinance if you bought your home more than a couple of years ago.  Keep in mind, however, that most institutions have stringent refinancing criteria, so it may not be worth it unless you can refinance for a full [...]

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When you are in the market for a new home you are prepared to spend a huge chunk of money, but just because the bank offers you a $400,000 mortgage doesn’t mean that it is wise for you to take the full amount.  Generally speaking, you should take at least 20% less than the bank [...]

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Paying down your mortgage early is a great thing to do, and can be considered a good investment for many homeowners.  I, myself, am not a financial advisor, but I have culled several interesting articles that outline the pros and cons of paying off your mortgage early from several finance and real estate experts.  First, [...]

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Thanks to the law passed earlier this year by Congress to avoid falling off the “fiscal cliff,” there are many advantages when it comes to real estate tax breaks.

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With mortgage interest rates remaining so low, you may be considering refinancing. But keep in mind that refinancing is not for everyone. To figure out if it is right for you, begin by figuring out how long it will take you to recoup your closing costs if you refinance at a lower rate.

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If you are in the market for your first home, or have struggled with your credit in the past the first step to buying your dream home is to build your credit so that you can get a mortgage and hopefully at a good rate! Here are three tips to help you:

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It’s always best to put 20% (or more) down on a mortgage when you are buying a home. The main reason for this is so that you can avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI) payments.

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It’s a good idea to be pre-approved for a mortgage before you begin house hunting. In fact, many realtors won’t even work with you until you’ve gone through this process. There is a bit of confusion out there though, about the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval. Many times these terms are used interchangeably, but they are, indeed, different

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If you’re in the market for a home, chances are high that you are not paying cash for it which means you will need to get a mortgage. There are two basic types of mortgages, conventional and government sponsored.

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